 Starring: Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges, Sam Elliot, Christian Slater
Director: Rod Lurie
Year Of Release: 2000
Plot: The vice presidency of the United States has been left vacant and President Jackson Evans is being pressured to select his nominee to fill the slot. He chooses Laine Hanson, who would become the first female Vice President if her nomination is confirmed. However the committee chosen to vet her is out to get the Senator. Although they’re convinced they’re not being sexist, with the questions focussing more and more on her sexual history, things quickly get nasty. |
The Contender is a great movie. It’s a reminder that politics can be entertaining, and that the drama of government (at least in terms of entertainment) is often less in the backstabbing and corruption, and more in the difference between the ideal of democratic politics and the reality. However the thing you’ve probably got to love most about The Contender is that it has Jeff Bridges at the President of the United State.
Let’s face it, wouldn’t that be great, if The Dude ran the world? However he’s but one of the many great movie presidents, but who are the best? Here’s the rundown of my picks...
10. President Westwood
Played By: Ernie Hudson
Movie: Stealth Fighter (1999)
When the government is being held to ransom by an unhinged maniac (in this case Ice-T’s renegade pilot, Owen Turner) you need a cool, calm, collected man in charge of the situation. Luckily the citizens of Stealth Fighter have Ernie Hudson’s President Westwood to protect them! Whether he’s vanquishing ghouls in Ghostbusters as Winston Zedmore or knocking heinous inmates into shape as Warden Leo Glynn in ‘Oz’, Hudson knows how to stay on top of a tough situation. What’s more, he showed that a black man could make it into the White House a full decade before Barack Obama!
9. President Allen Richmond
Played By: Gene Hackman
Movie: Absolute Power (1997)
Presidents don’t come much more corrupt than Allen Richmond, Gene Hackman’s seriously nasty character in the political thriller, Absolute Power. Richmond is in the midst of a particularly rough sexual encounter with his billionaire friend’s trophy wife Christy when she becomes distressed and reaches for a letter opener to defend herself. Richmond cries out in alarm and two secret agents burst in and shoot Christy dead, promptly covering up the murder and pinning the blame on a burglar. However, when thief Luther Whitney (Clint Eastwood) unwittingly stumbles across the crime scene he snatches the bloodstained murder weapon and vows to bring the President down! Why did Gene Hackman retire? I miss him.
8. President Jackson Evans
Played By: Jeff Bridges
Movie: The Contender (2000)
President Jackson Evans has a lot going for him. For a start, he’s played by Jeff Bridges, who brings his easygoing charm to the role, as well as his ability to seem like an authority figure who’s in charge, while remaining an everyman. Although I can’t imagine him running for office, let’s face it, if Bridges’ name was on the ballot you’d vote for him! It’s also nice to have a movie President who genuinely believes in the ideals of fairness and that all men are created equal. At the end he gets to deliver one of those great movie speeches that never happen in real life, where he decries the corruption and double standards on Capitol Hill, and demands that American ideals are upheld. It’s enough to make you cheer!
7. The President of the United States
Played By: Donald Pleasence
Movie: Escape From New York (1981)
When Air Force One crash-lands into the maximum-security hell that used to be Manhattan, Donald Pleasence’s President is captured by extremists who hold him hostage and cut off his finger! Notorious soldier-turned-fugitive Snake Plissken risks life and limb to rescue the President, who remains casually dismissive of Snake and his efforts. John Carpenter reportedly wrote the screenplay during the aftermath of the Watergate scandal as a way of voicing his cynicism at Richard Nixon’s behaviour. The duplicitous Donald Pleasence may not be the kind of guy that you want running your country, but he remains one of Hollywood’s most memorable Premiers.
6. President Tom Beck
Played By: Morgan Freeman
Movie: Deep Impact (1998)
New Orleans may have been washed away on George W. Bush’s watch, but most of the East Coast was obliterated when President Tom Beck was running the country! However, if anyone could soothe the anxieties of worried American citizens, Morgan Freeman could. When the astronomers’ findings are brought to his attention, Beck announces the disturbing fact that a massive asteroid is on its way to a distressed population. Whether he’s telling America they are doomed, implementing a human lottery to save mankind from extinction or delivering an inspirational speech in front of the reconstructed Capitol Building, Beck’s dulcet tones make tragedy so much easier to swallow!
5. President Andrew Shepherd
Played By: Michael Douglas
Movie: The American President (1995)
Back in 2004, a USA Today survey discovered that Andrew Shepherd was America’s favourite movie President. Shepherd, played by Michael Douglas, is a forlorn widower who woos lobbyist Annette Bening in this deft comedy-drama. Bill Clinton was reportedly so impressed with Douglas’ portrayal that he invited him to the White House and introduced him to Jacques Chirac as “the President”! In the movie Shepherd comes into his own when he lets his heart rule his head. When Clinton tried that approach it ended in sexual disaster! Interestingly, the movie was scripted by political drama heavyweight Aaron Sorkin, who later rose to prominence with ‘The West Wing’, recycling many of the supporting players, if not Douglas himself. Shepherd probably became the favourite movie President because he’s one of the most human.
4. President Merkin Muffley
Played By: Peter Sellers
Movie: Dr Strangelove (1964)
The name Merkin Muffley doesn’t inspire too much confidence, and the man behind it is equally hopeless! Peter Sellers’ portrayal of Muffley was inspired by the mild-mannered, hopelessly ineffectual politicians of the 1950s, particularly Adlai Stevenson, a terminally unsuccessful Presidential candidate whose intellectual approach never convinced the electorate. Rumour has it that director Stanley Kubrick ordered Sellers to tone down his comic performance because the cast and crew kept cracking up at Sellers’ wacky behaviour! He also has one of film’s greatest lines – “Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room.”
3. President James Dale
Played By: Jack Nicholson
Movie: Mars Attacks! (1996)
Jack Nicholson found his world leader credentials pushed to the limits when Martians invaded Earth back in 1996. President James Dale is convinced by his advisors to be friendly towards the alien invaders, and turn a potentially ugly situation into a public relations coup. Needless to say, the plan backfires spectacularly and the Martians swiftly set about vaporising their human hosts! Dale is convinced to strike back using nuclear weaponry but this proves equally futile. In short, he may not be the kind of guy that you can depend on in a crisis, but he is Jack Nicholson!
2. President Thomas J. Whitmore
Played By: Bill Pullman
Movie: Independence Day (1996)
Leading by example is a key Presidential trait, and no one leads by example better than Bill Pullman’s President Whitmore in Independence Day. Improbably enough, Whitmore leads the charge against the alien invaders, actually piloting a fighter jet and generally kicking alien ass! Whitmore literally saves the world, and you can’t ask for more than that from your President. Naturally, his approval rating went through the roof!
1. President James Marshall
Played By: Harrison Ford
Movie: Air Force One (1997)
Presidents come and Presidents go, but few have ever measured up to Harrison Ford’s James Marshall. On a visit to Moscow, Marshall announces that the United States will not negotiate with terrorists. However, his standpoint is put to the test on the flight home when his plane is hijacked by terrorists who execute his staff and kidnap his family. Rather than cower in the corner, Marshall takes the fight to the Russians, formulating an escape plan for his fellow hostages before battling with terrorist Ivan Korshunov and rogue spook Agent Gibbs. Not only is he roguishly handsome, but James Marshall can give terrorists an ass-whupping at high altitude! Now that’s the sort of President you want.
TOM LEINS
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